SU-Marquette Recap

We all watched cartoons as a kid, right? (and some of you probably still do)

Remember when a cartoon character would see something they couldn't believe and they would wipe the eyes that were bugging out of their head to make sure they saw what they thought they just saw?

Gloria Wright/The Post-Standard

Well, with the Syracuse-Marquette game still in doubt with 17:13 to go in the second half and the score 44-40 Syracuse, Kristof Ongenaet turned everybody watching the game into Bugs Bunny.

Beyond all explanation, Kristof Ongenaet caught an alley-oop pass from Jonny Flynn and threw one down with authority (send it in Mr.Waffle!!).

It was what came next that left us all wondering if the Carrier Dome had been swallowed by a wormhole and we were in an alternate universe....

With 16:46 left, Ongenaet stole the ball from Marquette's Lazar Howard, dribbled down the floor, left Jerel McNeal behind with an unbelievable crossover move and threw down a two-handed jam while Hayward took him out from behind. Kristof finished the three-point play on a free throw to up the score to 49-40 shortly after the Carrier Dome lost its marbles.

Uhhhhhh....what just happened here?

What happened was Ongenaet inspired his teammates to victory for the second straight game.

Against Seton Hall, Kristof inspired his teammates with a gutty performance that left him with a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) by halftime.

Against Marquette, it was Kristof's blue collar numbers (nine points, five boards, four assists) and perhaps the most unlikely back-to-back jams in SU history that sealed the deal.

Gloria Wright/The Post-Standard

Most of us have spent the last week or so talking about what it will take for Syracuse to reach that post season basketball tournament that has four initials, not three.

While we have all been busy yapping, Kristof Ongenaet has been busy showing his teammates how to play their way in.

All Tom Crean and his Marquette Golden Eagles can do now is rub their eyes and wonder just who that masked Belgian was.

AP/Kevin Rivoli

The Boeheim Report

Keep a look out for video from Jim Boeheim's post game presser (yes he did answer questions this time) by clicking right here.

In the meantime, here are some highlights.

The Opening Monolouge...

"I thought today we were really smart at the end of the game. We were patient and we got the ball to Arinze with the lead and he finished inside. I thought we really played smart down the stretch early. Jonny had a slow start, but once he got going he was tremendous today. Kristof had his hands on a lot of balls, he really was active today. Scoop comes in and makes a couple of really key plays in the game and really played well. It was a tremendous effort. Marquette is a really good basketball team and I just thought we played really well on defense. We've moved the best we've moved all year long and covering people and we just really did a good job on offense. This was our best all-around game in terms of offense and defense. It was a really good effort."

On Kristof's back-to-back plays...

"I just thought we played well the whole game. Those were good plays, but I just thought when it was still eight or ten, we got the ball to Arinze and we took our time. We showed that we're getting better knowing what to do and getting the ball into Arinze in that situation. He was very solid; he waited, he was patient, and he finished down there. That was the thing that stood out in my mind the most about this game. We made really good plays the last five minutes and it's taken us awhile to get to that point. You're asking young guys to do that against three veteran guards as good as any guard group in the country. We kept our turnovers down to 14 and they've forced more turnovers than anybody. I thought we really played smart and took care of the basketball. We got the ball in the right places today, better than we have all year."

On what the win means for Syracuse's NCAA Tournament chances...

"I won't talk about it for the rest of my coaching career. We're just going to go out and play. Everyone else can talk about it."

On the players responding to Kristof...

"It's always good, that type of thing is contagious. Arinze made the play of the game at Seton Hall diving after that ball, and we haven't done that. Those are good plays. We played well at times this year. I think we've gotten better at the end. I think even in our losses, at Louisville we played good defense, we played good against Connecticut, we've played good basketball. By far, we're playing the best overall that we've played all year now. It'll be tough in New York, all the teams there are good. Anybody in this league is capable of beating just about anybody I think."

AP/Kevin Rivoli

On his favorite Billy Owens moment...

"Billy is one of the greatest players I've seen. He was a tremendous basketball player and a really good kid. It was great to coach him. He can do as many things as anybody we've ever had with a basketball. His junior year he average 20-something and 10. If he had come back, he would've averaged 30 and 10. He was a tremendous basketball player and a great guy to coach. He balanced out Derrick a little bit."

On his thoughts approaching the BIG EAST tournament...

"Just going to go play. That's all you can do now."

Player QuotesKristof Ongenaet

On his coast-to-coast dunk...

"I got the ball all of a sudden and I only had one guy between me and the basket. It was a little further than I thought, but I thought I could handle it. I thought the whole lane was clear, but once I got in the air, I saw another guy behind me. But I got it, and also the made the free throw. It was real exciting."

On the improvement of his all around game...

"During the whole preparation for this year we have made a lot of adjustments and we are working together every day. In the beginning it was real hard because I only got a few minutes. I'm not blaming anybody, that was just the way it was. They knew I could score, I could dunk, rebound, and shoot. Especially the last two games, I have shown an ability to score. I think people are excited that the work I did in preseason and practice this season is starting to come through."

On how much his teammates have reacted to him the past two games...

"It is real exciting. I think it is crucial for our team to do those things. I am trying to do what I can to motivate my teammates. We have played 35 minutes, sometimes only 38 minutes, and that has cost us games. I am trying to motivate everyone to keep battling and keep hustling every minute. I think we did that today."

On how important this win was...

"Its great but, on the other hand, it is a must for us. If you want to get into the NCAA Tournament, we need to focus on each game. We just can't have any more letdowns. We have had a couple of games where we were ahead and we just gave it away. Today and the last game (Seton Hall) that wasn't the case. That is really important for us to keep rolling and keep learning from our experiences."

On if this was a "must win"...

"Yeah, we had to. We had no choice. If we lose today, then we would have to win the Big East Tournament. We still have to do really good to have a good chance, but this gave us confidence to beat a really good team like Marquette. If we can beat them, then we can beat a lot of different teams."

On the upcoming Big East Tournament...

"It will be a great opportunity. I don't really know about it, obviously. I am excited about it and hopefully I can keep playing like I have the last two weeks."

Jonny Flynn

On Kristof's play...

"Kristof is one of those players that isn't going to try to do too much out there. He isn't going to go in between the legs. He won't try to penetrate or over penetrate, anything like that. He is going to do the little things to help us win games. Tonight he had a big game changing play when he dunked on a guy and brought the momentum towards us."

On if he is ready to live in a world where Kristof is throwing dunks down every game...

"(laughs) Oh man, I would love to live in that world. If it is like that, we are going to win a whole lot of games."

On if he throws down dunks like that at practice...

"He does it at practice, it is just at games he doesn't get the opportunity. The thing Kris did today, is he was just running the floor. He was doing that at the beginning of the season, but he kind of stopped a little bit. I told him today, if you run the floor you are going to get a lot of plays."

On the potential for a lot of games at the BE Tourney with a short handed team...

"We have been playing this whole season short handed. This is not going to be anything new to us. We are mentally strong. Having seven players play four games will be just like AAU basketball where you have to play like ten games in a day. We will have to go back to the good ole' days where we played all those games in a row."

AP/Kevin Rivoli

On how encouraging it is to be playing your best basketball at a time of the year that you want to be playing your best basketball...

"That is what it is. Putting wins together. Stringing wins together. Right now, if we can string some more wins together, it is going to help us out. We are playing our best basketball right now and we are going to carry it down to Madison Square Garden."

On if two wins in New York would "ice" an NCAA Tournament bid...

"That is what they are saying, but our goal is to win the whole thing. If we win the whole thing, then they can't say nothing about us being in the tournament. If we keep playing the way we have been, we should be winning."

On defending Kristof on the play he got taken to the ground...

"It was like he choke slammed him! Kris had the ball and there was no chance to get him and then all of a sudden he choke slammed him. Everybody on this team has each other backs. If something like that happens, I am going to get my friend's back. He is my teammate and I would go to war for him.

On Donte Greene when he goes inside...

He is a totally different player when he plays inside-out, as opposed to outside-in. When he goes inside, you know, he is 6-11. He doesn't even have to jump to get a shot off. He can turn and, just like he was doing today, turn, and it was like a little kid was checking him. He could get the shot off. If he can keep doing things like that, we can be a much better team."

On Marquette's aggressive defense...

"We haven't really played a team as aggressive as them. You know, they are almost like little piranas out there. They see a piece of meat in the water and they are always picking at it. They see the ball roll on the floor, they dive on the floor, they picking at it. They see a big man dribble, they picking at it. They are a great defensive team, but we held pretty good against them."

Donte Greene

On how well Syracuse is playing right now..

"This is what we should have been doing all season, really. It just took us a little while to get together. We are playing well now. We are definitely going to take it down to the Garden (Madison Square Garden), take it one game at a time, and just try to win."

On where the team's confidence is now...

"We feel good. We feel like we can run with some of the best teams in the country. We need to go down to Madison Square Garden and prove that. Especially against top teams in the Big East. If we go down there and just have fun and come out strong, I think things will be alright."

Gloria Wright/The Post-Standard

On how bad Syracuse wanted this win...

"We definitely wanted this one. Coach (Boeheim) talked about our toughness, how much we wanted it. He questioned how much we wanted to make it to the (NCAA) tournament. We knew we had to come out and work hard at practice to show him. Its not all hype. You just don't "make it" to the tournament, you have to put in the work. We came out today and we just wanted it. That was our goal at the beginning of the season, to make the NCAA Tournament. We just want to get there."

On what the win means to the team...

"It means a lot,man. We have been working so hard, we want it so bad. Everything has been against us. We have been through so much. Starting off with Andy, then losing E (Eric Devendorf), the absence of Josh Wright, Devin (Brennan-McBride) leaving the team, there has been so much drama this year. We could us it as an excuse to say that is why we haven't been playing so good, but we don't say that. We just want it so badly. Flat out."

On what Syracuse learned from the Pitt loss...

"As bad as that loss was, I think that we needed that. It really helped us out. I think that was the last straw, the last little piece that we missed. To lose a game, and we lost so many other games to teams we shouldn't have lost to. Not coming out hard enough, things like that. That game helped us out and I think it is going to help us out down the road. We learned to keep the foot on the gas and keep going at people. You can't ever stop until the end of the game."

On what he has heard about the Big East Tournament...

"I have heard a lot. Its tough. You have to come out every night and play hard. We are not going to have any nights off. I know, myself and Jonny (Flynn), we are excited because it is just like AAU. You got a tough game here, a tough game there. You got to be ready to play the next day. I'm ready for it. I'm ready to have fun."

On his improving game on the inside...

"I have always felt comfortable, its just that Boeheim and the coaching staff never really stressed it. But Coach Murphy sat me down the last couple weeks and it has been inside, inside. Working before and after practice on inside moves, just getting more comfortable. Tonight, I focused it all inside. They had a small guard on me, so I had to punish him. Other teams, you know, you can't really put a smaller guard on me."

On Kristof's dunks...

"We have been waiting for that all season. Kristof is definitely a great player. He has been working out with myself and Coach Murphy. He is always in there as my partner, we have been working out since the beginning of the season just always in there working it."

On Kristof's improvement...

"The whole preseason, Kristof just killed. We thought he was going to come in and start. His confidence got shaken up a bit in the beginning of the season, but he is definitely back. He had a hell of a game today."

Arinze Onuaku

On Kristof's dunks...

"Those were the momentum changing plays today. That just got us going. We see what he can do at practice, I have been telling him to run like that more. I have been telling him he can bring it to the game and play with confidence."

On the team playing it's best basketball at this important time of the year...

"Every game now is one and done. In March, you have to be playing your best basketball.
It is always one game at a time, but in the end you gotta go. We do just have to take it one game at a time."

The Billy Owens Report

Here is what Billy Owens had to say to the media at halftime in talking about his # 30 hitting the rafters at the Carrier Dome.

AP/Kevin Rivoli

On the emotions of the moment...

"I was nervous. I had a speech and everything but I couldn't get the microphone on (laughs). But I was nervous, I had them little goose bumps through my whole body. I think I was more nervous out there today then when I made them two free throws to beat Georgetown. I was just nervous. Like I said before, I'm very happy. I worked hard in high school to get to college. I worked hard in college to get to the NBA. The NBA didn't pan out the way I wanted it to be because of injuries, but I'm definitely happy about my basketball career."

On how closely he still follows the Orange...

"I follow them. It is hard right now because I am with the Dallas Mavericks and every time they are playing, we are playing. I try to TIVO the games when I get a chance to. I know they have a young nucleus. As long as they work hard in the summer time and know that they are young and they will just get better, I think there is definitely going to be a lot of excitement here and in a couple more years here at Syracuse."

On if he talked to the team before the game...

"I didn't get a chance to talk to them. I got in kind of late. You know Bernie (Fine) said I'm never on time for things (laughs). As long as I'm on time for game time, that is all that matters. I will try to get a chance to talk to them after the game. You know, some of those young fellas don't know me. They got to pull out tapes just to watch me, but I definitely have some good advice for them."

On if his own kids believed that was him on the video screen...

"No, my one daughter said I was skinny (laughs). So, but, they have followed my basketball career. My two youngest are probably too young to remember my basketball but my oldest son remembers and my other daughter remembers, so they are proud of their daddy."

On being associated with Syracuse where ever he goes...

"No matter what city I'm in at the time, there is always Syracuse alumni coming up to me.
That makes me feel good. Every time I come back to Syracuse, I am grinning ear-to-ear because I just got great memories of this place. The three years I spent here are three of the best years I ever had in my life."

On if the free throws vs Georgetown is the postcard moment of his SU career...

"It is. It is so funny because I talked to Dikembe Mutumbo, because we (Dallas) just got beat by the Rockets, and he is still out there playing. No telling how old he is (laughs). I joke with him that he like 50 years old. But the first thing he said to me is "I hate Syracuse." (laughs)
No, but Syracuse is a big part of my life and it always will be. I'll always tell everybody that I will bleed orange."

On what advice he would give to any Syracuse player who is thinking of leaving early for the NBA like he did...

"It all depends on the situation. I left early because people I know that followed my career was advising me, told me, that if I leave my junior year I would be in the Top 3. If I stayed I would be in the Top 3. At that time, the NCAA was thinking about probation. So I was kind of worried about staying because I'm in it to win it. I want to win championships. Even though I never won one here, in high school I won four straight. I'll tell you a story, the first time we lost I was almost in tears. Derrick Coleman kind of punched me and said "what you doing here" and I said "man, we just lost" and he said "you better get used to that". You gonna lose some you gonna win some.

So, it just you know, leaving, if it is right for your situation and your family and you have someone in your ear that knows what they are talking about and you are in the Top 5, I think you should go ahead. Because you come to college to better yourself for the future. Face it, we are here to play basketball, I mean you get a great education, but when that money comes knocking and it can help your family out. I know money isn't everything, because to me money is evil. But if you can better yourself, go ahead and try it. Jump into the big leagues"

On what his regrets are about leaving early...

"You know, I do. Because I didn't win a championship here. And the way I went out. We lost to the Richmond Spiders. I was talking to Mike (Waters) the other day about it and it didn't even hit me until like two days later. When students were coming up to me and saying "how could you all lose to the Richmond Spiders?" I was like "wow, this is a bad feeling." I left with a bad taste in my mouth. But like I said, no regrets. If I had to start all over again. I would come right back to Syracuse."

So, if Mutumbo hates Syracuse, does Billy hate Richmond?...

"I hate Richmond and Georgetown (laughs)."

Glass Half Full

Who knows what the tarot cards have in store for Syracuse when it comes to the NCAA Tournament, but one thing is for darn sure.

This team is getting hot at the exact right time to do some dancing.

Sure they fell apart against Pitt, but for 37 minutes Syracuse looked as good as they had all season in that game. The steady play rolled into New Jersey against Seton Hall and again Saturday against Marquette. Jim Boeheim sees this and has gone out of his way to mention how good his team has played lately in the last three post game press conferences.

Whether they want to admit it or not, finishing strong is huge in the eyes of the NCAA Tournament selection committee. You are only as good as your last game after all.

Honestly, when they are in that room deciding which 65 teams get to dance, are they going to remember how Syracuse finished strong or that loss to UMass back in November?

Glass Half Empty

Now, all that said above, while Syracuse is playing as well as it has all season right now, one has to wonder what kind of team will show up in New York.

This is a Syracuse team that fights, scratches, and claws every single game.

Since a 20-point loss to West Virginia on January 21, with the exception of the last three minutes of the Pitt game and the South Florida debacle, you never get a sense watching this team that they are out of it. Their inexperience shows in flashes and results in careless turnovers and bad decision making at times, but what it doesn't result in is a team that gets its doors blown off.

I hope that turns into a team that takes that attitude with them to an environment in New York that will be rough and tumble.

But when you ask Kristof Ongenaet about the Big East Tournament and he responds with "I have heard about it" and Jonny Flynn and Donte Greene compare it to AAU ball...well...call me a bit worried.

Hey There Hot Stuff

After shooting 50% vs Seton Hall, Syracuse was up to a 58% mark from the field in this game including 69% in the 2nd half.

You can attribute that to a string of Arinze Onuaku plays inside and Donte Greene taking his game inside a lot more in this game.

Oh yeah. Let's not forget all the dunks by SEND IT IN MR.WAFFLE!!!

Who's Got Next in the Rafters?

Gloria Wright/The Post-Standard

So now that Billy Owens' # 30 is up in the rafters, who will be up there next?

Maybe this will help you guess.

The spies tell me that the Syracuse bigwigs that decide this stuff want atleast a 15-year window (presumably to let a pro career play out) from the time that player graduates before his number joins Owens, Dave Bing (22), Derrick Coleman (44), Sherman Douglas (20), Vic Hanson (8), Rony Seikaly (4), Wilmeth Sidat-Singh (19) and Dwayne "Pearl" Washington (31) in the rafters.

So under those guidelines, it will be awhile before names like Gerry McNamara, Hakim Warrick, and Carmelo Anthony will be considered. But it brings names like Louis Orr, Roosevelt Bouie (who should go in together), and Derek Brower (just kidding) to the front of the line.

Using the 15-year rule, who do you think will be/should be next?

This, that, and the other thing

*Syracuse got 22 points off 18 Marquette turnovers and also destroyed Marquette in the points in the paint department (39-22)

*As I wrote this, I heard ESPN bracket nerd Joe Lunardi say Syracuse is now in the NCAA Tournament after this win. He also made a crack that Syracuse is now "America's bubble team" and that the bubble should now be called "The Boeheim"...as in Syracuse "got off the Boeheim."

Hardy har har.

*Jonny Flynn left Dominic James in the dust in this one. Flynn had 21 points and 7 assists to James' 7 points and 5 assists.

*Thanks for all the emails saying "I saw you on ESPN" as my seat on press row was right behind Billy Owens, who got a lot of TV time. Mrs. Axeman claims I was caught on national TV scratching my nose. I'll have to go to the tape for evidence. She likes to mess with me like that.

*Now, I have certainly made my share of spelling and grammatical errors in this blog in my day, but who was the dope that made the sign spelling out E-S-P-N with player names and spelled Donte Greene's first name D-a-n-t-e?

Really? You didn't want to check that before you left the house?

*The lone player celebrated on senior day, Ryan Cahak, got a nice ovation when he got into the game with 46 seconds to go, but missed both of his shot attempts.

*Former SU Football star Michael Owens was back in the dome to see Billy's jersey "retirement" and sat court side about 15 yards away from the corner of the end zone where he converted the two-point conversion to beat West Virginia in 1987. UPDATE:My bad, it was the other end zone. I knew that was too good to be true.

*I also spotted Herman Harried in the crowd. Come on, who doesn't love them some Herman Harried!!